Rybakina Upsets Sabalenka to Win Historic £4 Million Reward
Elena Rybakina earned her forty-fifth hard-court triumph of the year
Rybakina claimed the biggest payday in women's tennis all time by overcoming top-ranked Sabalenka in straight sets at the championship.
The 26-year-old produced a impressive performance to beat four-times Grand Slam winner her opponent 6-3 7-6 (7-0) in Saudi Arabia.
Since each competitor came through the event without a loss, the reward on offer was a historic £3.98 million – the biggest prize awarded in women's tennis the sport's history.
The prize money tops the £3.74m Sabalenka earned for winning September's US Open, which was the most lucrative major tournament in the current year.
"It's been an amazing tournament," said the Kazakh player.
"Truly couldn't have predicted this outcome so to reach the final was just incredible."
"Let me offer congratulations to Aryna for holding the top spot for a second consecutive year running, it's an tremendous achievement."
The champion, who was the world number six, delivered 16 winning shots during a commanding opening set performance.
Rybakina fended off a couple of chances before taking every point in the sixth game to take the break and held her serve to secure the opening set.
As the second set progressed, the world number one saved two break points at four-all to shift the balance in her favour.
However, having worked so hard to disrupt her opponent's flow, the top seed failed to capitalize by squandering two chances in the following game to level the second set at 5-5.
Sabalenka's failure to level the match affected her tiebreak performance, with Rybakina winning every point to win the championship.
This win, Rybakina's sixth over her rival, means Rybakina will move up one place in the WTA rankings to fifth in the world.
An emotional Sabalenka appeared to be in tears as she sat with her team soon after the match.
"It was not the best display from me today but Rybakina you were definitely the superior player," the Belarusian addressed the audience.
"You literally overpowered me out of the court. I'm pleased to see you at your peak. Celebrate this stunning trophy."
